A water filtering system including an inlet, an outlet and a filter positioned between the inlet and the outlet, where feed water enters the inlet and passes through the filter, and filtered water exits the through the outlet. A measurement device is connected to at least one of the inlet and the outlet measures a concentration of Total Dissolved Solids in at least one of the inlet and the outlet. A bypass valve is connected between the inlet and the outlet, and moves between a closed position and an open position, where the filtered water moves from the outlet to the inlet. A controller communicates with the measurement device and the bypass valve and automatically moves the bypass valve to a position between the closed position and the open position based on the concentration of the Total Dissolved Solids in the filtered water measured by the measurement device.

The invention generally relates to osmotically driven membrane systems and processes and more particularly to systems and processes for handling feed streams without pretreatment and increased brine concentration for zero liquid discharge, including forward osmosis separation (FO), direct osmotic concentration (DOC), pressure-assisted forward osmosis (PAFO), and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). The system includes: a plurality of forward osmosis units, each having a semi-permeable membrane assembly and a tank; and a separation system in fluid communication with the plurality of forward osmosis units and configured to separate the dilute draw solution into the concentrated draw solution and a solvent system.

A membrane-based air separation module includes an inlet configured to receive supply air, a first hollow fiber membrane configured to substantially remove water from the supply air to form an anhydrous air stream, and a permeate port configured to exhaust the water removed by the first hollow fiber membrane from the air separation module. The air separation module also includes a second hollow fiber membrane positioned downstream of the first hollow fiber membrane configured to receive the anhydrous air stream and substantially remove oxygen from the anhydrous air stream, an oxygen-enriched air outlet configured to exhaust the oxygen removed by the second hollow fiber membrane from the air separation module, and a nitrogen-enriched air outlet configured to supply a stream of nitrogen-enriched air to a fuel tank of an aircraft.

The invention provides a membrane filter assembly for analytical sample systems, and a sample system block assembly having a built-in membrane filter assembly. The filter assembly has a housing having recessed inner face having non-uniform depth, and a cover member having a plurality of concentric grooves and a radially oriented shallow groove crossing the concentric grooves, wherein the grooves each have wider top than the bottom.

In one aspect, the present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for filtration. In some embodiments, filters are provided that include bypass channels, e.g., such that the filter is able to allow fluid flow to occur even if most or all of the filter elements are clogged. In some cases, the bypass channel may have a fluidic resistance that is higher than the filter elements, such that fluid preferentially passes through the filter elements. However, over time, as the filter elements become clogged with debris, the fluidic resistance of the filter elements may increase, e.g., such that it becomes greater than the bypass channel, and fluid may instead preferentially pass through the bypass channel. In contrast, in many prior art devices, once a filter has clogged, fluid can no longer flow through the filter.

A saline water pre-treatment or treatment system using nanofiltration and hybrid forward osmosis: the system comprising: a feed solution, a pressure pump, a nanofiltration module, and a hybrid forward osmosis module.

The present invention relates to a mid-case of a humidifier for a fuel cell and a humidifier for a fuel cell, comprising: a mid-body that accommodates at least one cartridge including a plurality of hollow fiber membranes; a partition wall part disposed inside the mid-body and partitioning the inside of the mid-body into an inflow space into which a first gas flows and an outflow space through which the first gas flows out; and a bypass hole formed through the partition wall part such that a portion of the first gas introduced into the inflow space bypasses the cartridge and flows into the outflow space.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell membrane humidifier which can actively control the flow rate of exhaust gas flowing from a fuel cell stack according to the output condition of a fuel cell. A fuel cell membrane humidifier according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a mid-case having an inlet through which wetting gas supplied from the fuel cell stack is introduced and an outlet through which the wetting gas is discharged; a cartridge disposed inside the mid-case and accommodating a plurality of hollow fiber membranes; a bypass space formed in the space between the mid-case and the cartridge; and an active blocking member for controlling the degree of opening of the bypass space according to the temperature of the wetting gas introduced through the inlet.

A method of desalinating water, including the steps of when electricity costs between a first predetermined price and a second predetermined price, fill water is pumped into a reverse osmosis desalination unit to yield desalinated permeate and saltwater having a first salinity, when electricity costs less than the first predetermined price, fill water is pumped into a reverse osmosis desalination unit to yield desalinated permeate and saltwater having a second salinity, and when electricity costs greater than the second predetermined price, pure water is flowed into a reverse osmosis unit to yield pressurized saltwater which is run through a turbine to generate electricity. The first salinity is lower than the second salinity.

A system and method for treating produced water are provided. An exemplary system includes a membrane distillation (MD) apparatus to separate the produced water into a retentate stream and a permeate stream, wherein the retentate stream includes a high total dissolved solids (TDS), and the permeate stream includes a low TDS. A pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) unit fluidically coupled to the retentate stream, including a pressure booster pump feeding the retentate stream to the retentate side of the PRO membrane, a low TDS stream coupled to the permeate side of the PRO, a PRO retentate stream, and a PRO permeate stream. A turbine is fluidically coupled to the PRO retentate stream, wherein the turbine is mechanically coupled to a generator.